President Donald Trump's longtime friend and business partner Carl Icahn is out to quash speculation that he used hisWhite House connections forinsider trading.

Icahn sold more than $30 million worth of his stake in Manitowoc, a company heavily dependent on steel, just days before Trump's tariff announcement sent its stock price tumbling. Last week, several media outlets wrote about the sell-off.

Icahn did not immediately comment on the mediareports. But on Wednesday, he broke his silence.

"We don't generally comment on rumors, but the recent media speculation regarding our sale of Manitowoc stock calls for a response," Icahn's investment firm said in a statement. "We state for the record: Any suggestion that we had prior knowledge of the Trump administration's announcement of new tariffs on steel imports is categorically untrue."

In response to inquiries, we released the following statement regarding The Manitowoc Company, Inc. ($MTW) -- https://t.co/u1PQQYZo3Y

A public filing shows Icahn began offloading shares of Manitowoc Company(MTW), which relies on steel to manufacture construction cranes, on February 12. His firm continued dumping the stock through February 22 for sale prices between $32.47 and $34.31.